Pew interviewed more than 10,000 adults and found that politically engaged Democrats and Republicans today are more firmly entrenched in their views than they were 20 years ago. The study also found a growing antipathy toward members of the opposing party.

Today, 38 percent of Democrats are consistent liberals, compared to just 8 percent in 1994. Among Republicans, 33 percent are consistently conservative, compared to 23 percent two decades ago.

The extremely conservative and liberal elements of the parties are those most consistently heard, according to the survey, while those in the middle remain on the periphery of political involvement. The results of Pew's most extensive research to date of political attitudes comes as little surprise to those disgusted by the bickering and partisanship among Democrats and Republicans in Madison and in Washington, D.C. The political free-for-all brings sniping - and little positive interaction - from each side of the political aisle.

It has reached the point where compromise has become a dirty word among those most entrenched in their respective political ideologies. That is one of the reasons those caught in the middle of these party extremes not only tune out the incessant bickering of inflexible ideologues but increasingly drop out of the political process entirely.

This shrinking middle ground of Americans must re-engage in the process or those on the extremes will only become more so. As the report puts it: "Many of those in the center remain on the edges of the political playing field ... while the ideologically oriented and politically rancorous Americans make their voices heard."

The survey found that 39 percent take a roughly equal number of liberal and conservative positions, compared to nearly 50 percent 20 years ago.

The extra voices on the extremes of the political spectrum are amplified through greater participation in voting, writing or emailing to elected leaders, donations to and volunteering for political campaigns, according to the survey findings.

Political involvement is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. It can be counterproductive, however, if it serves only the limited purpose of expounding ideologies or positions on the right and left fringes of our politics. The line-in-the-sand mentality that permeates the political landscape today does little to foster positive action of any kind. Hence, we see gridlock, little compromise and growing antipathy among the politically engaged.

The political divisiveness has consequences well beyond arguments among the talking heads on TV news shows. It affects where we choose to live, who we associate with and how we conduct ourselves.

The survey shows us there is plenty of room for improvement - on the extremes by learning the true meaning of compromise and in the middle through added engagement. Failure on either front will result in growing antipathy and the kind of polarized society we all should work to avoid.

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Our View: We must temper growing political antipathy

We are becoming a nation of polar opposites, according to a new Pew Research Center study of political attitudes in the United States.

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